But Elizabeth said, “No! His name is John!”
Parallel translations
- WEB His mother answered, “Not so; but he will be called John.”
- KJV And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.
- BSB But his mother replied, “No! He shall be called John.”
- NKJV His mother answered and said, “No; he shall be called John.”
- NASB And yet his mother responded and said, “No indeed; but he shall be called John.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Elizabeth insisted the child be named John. She obeyed God's command over family custom.
Overview
Elizabeth, perhaps informed by Zacharias, declares the God-given name John. Her insistence honors the angel's instruction over tradition. This obedience marks the child as set apart for God's purpose.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Luke 1:13But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
- 2 Sam 12:25and he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and he named him Jedidiah, for Yahweh’s sake.
- Luke 1:63He asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, “His name is John.” They all marveled.
- Matt 1:25and didn’t know her sexually until she had given birth to her firstborn son. He named him Jesus.
- Isa 8:3I went to the prophetess, and she conceived, and bore a son. Then Yahweh said to me, “Call his name ‘Maher Shalal Hash Baz.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 1:60 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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